Kepelino
| Kepelino | |
|---|---|
| Born |
c. 1830 Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi |
| Died | c. 1878 |
| Nationality | Hawaiian |
| Occupation | Historian, Teacher, Writer |
| Known for | Writing Kepelino's Traditions of Hawaii |
Zepherin "Kepelino" Kahōʻāliʻi Keauokalani (c. 1830 – c. 1878) was a Native Hawaiian cultural historian who wrote Kepelino's Traditions of Hawaii. In 1874, he was involved in an attempt to overthrow King Kalākaua in favor of Queen Emma of Hawaii.
Kepelino is the Hawaiianized pronunciation of his Christian name Zepherin (written in its French form) or Zephyrin. His names are rendered in many forms. Confusingly, he used the names Kahōʻāliʻi (which was short for Kahōʻāliʻikumaieiwakamoku) and Keauokalani interchangeably as his surname. He signed his names as Zepherin Keauokalani, John P. Zephyrina Kahoalii and other different forms. The most complete name he used was Zepherin Kuhopu Kahoalii Kameeiamoku Kuikauwai.
He was born at Kailua-Kona around 1830. Named Kahōʻāliʻikumaieiwakamoku which meant "to-be-the-chief-of-the-nine-districts", he was the son of Namiki and Kahiwa Kānekapōlei. His father was a descendant of the priestly lineage of Paʻao, and his mother was a daughter of King Kamehameha I, the founder of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
In 1840, he and his family converted to Roman Catholicism and he adopted the name Zepherin or Kepelino, possibly after the second-century Pope Zephyrinus. Sent to Honolulu, Kepelino was educated by the Catholic missionaries to be a lay teacher and received a basic education in reading, writing, geography, and arithmetic. In 1847, he accompanied Father Ernest Heurtel as an assistant missionary in Tahiti, in hope that he would be able to attract young Tahitians converts. The Tahitian mission was unsuccessful, and he was sent back to Hawaii by Father Heurtel who feared the young Hawaiian would be "lost in this Babylon of ours." Returning to Hawaii, nothing much is known about his life for a period of time. Between 1861 and 1869, he continued his education at the College of ʻĀhuimanu, founded in 1846 by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Learning English, French, Latin, and Greek, he was taught by Bishop Louis Désiré Maigret, the founder of the Catholic mission. From 1860 to 1861, he also wrote for the Hawaiian Catholic newspaper Ka Hae Kiritiano.
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